This is a discussion on First Car within the New Member Hangout forums, part of the Community - Meet other Enthusiasts category; Hey guys im looking into buying a 02 wrx in about 3 weeks it would be my first car and ...

First Car

Hey guys im looking into buying a 02 wrx in about 3 weeks it would be my first car and being a manual car.. Do you guys think it would be hard learning with an wrx.. How are the clutches on the wrx .. what are the most common problems on 02 wrx would it be a good idea getting a wrx as my first car.. How many people have automatic and put mods on ? thank for your help and suggestions guys !

I personally do not recommand a WRX to MOST kids, as they are usually to much of a car. With that being said some kids do drive sanely and can respect any car.

The wrx is probaly one of the hardest cars to learn how to drive manual. The AWD is not forgiving when you are first learning. Also the clutchs in the 02 are pretty stiff from what I've heard. My suggestion would be to find someone with an older car to learn on first.

As far as common issues with 02 the biggest is probaly the tranny. They do not take to reckless abuse all that well. Make sure since you are buying a 4-5 year old car at this point that all the maitance was up to date. If the owner cant show you proof of oil changes and other routine maitance then I'd pass.

Also try to find a car that is stock, and hasnt been modded. I'm sure I'll catch some greif for this but most modded cars are abused cars. Some arent, but it's better to be safe then sorry.

The only other issue that comes to mind is that some 02 owners complain of a fuel smell on really cold days. Other then the basic cheap paint there arent many complaints. Good luck

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I personally do not recommand a WRX to MOST kids, as they are usually to much of a car. With that being said some kids do drive sanely and can respect any car.

The wrx is probaly one of the hardest cars to learn how to drive manual. The AWD is not forgiving when you are first learning. Also the clutchs in the 02 are pretty stiff from what I've heard. My suggestion would be to find someone with an older car to learn on first.

As far as common issues with 02 the biggest is probaly the tranny. They do not take to reckless abuse all that well. Make sure since you are buying a 4-5 year old car at this point that all the maitance was up to date. If the owner cant show you proof of oil changes and other routine maitance then I'd pass.

Also try to find a car that is stock, and hasnt been modded. I'm sure I'll catch some greif for this but most modded cars are abused cars. Some arent, but it's better to be safe then sorry.

The only other issue that comes to mind is that some 02 owners complain of a fuel smell on really cold days. Other then the basic cheap paint there arent many complaints. Good luck

+1

Remember, learning to drive stick on a harder car means that every other manual you drive will be a piece of cake. I learned on my WRX and I am glad I did.

If you are going to own a Bugeye as your first car, there are some things to remember. The WRX is a very driver-demanding car. This is actually one of the better selling points of it. If you want a car that drives itself, buy an Evo.

However, if you take it easy for a while until you get the feel of the car, and you take good care of it, you cannot ask for a better experience for the money. I know this is your first car, so remember a few basic things I learned the hard way on my first car:

1) Gray cars at dusk on a gray road are hard to see. Especially on an overpass at 45 mph in a 25. And gray cars have a tendancy to broadside other cars randomly.

2) Do not let your friends write "This car sux" in crayon on the back of the passenger seat.

3) CHANGE THE OIL REGULARLY. Sure you're only 500 miles over, but who knows what is happening then.

4) It is a WRX. You are not a Civic, Prelude, or Integra. Any sign of rice and I will drive to your house with my heat gun and take every last sticker off myself, unless that sticker is in some way demeaning to owners of other cars. A SPOON sticker will get you dragged out to a blanket party.

5) Ebay is a great source for aftermarket parts... IF you know what you are looking for and are buying a quality product.

6) Time to change the oil again.

7) Learn to perform work on your WRX on your own as much as you can. It is a race car, parts are modular and easy to get to, for the most part. There is no better car to learn on built after 1974.

8) If you can afford to, get a set of seconds wheels and tires for wintertime. Do not spend a ton of money on winter wheels, you can buy them off the forums here pretty cheap.

9) Change your oil again.

10) Learn to use the ClubWRX, Scoobymods, Nabisco, and i-Club search engines.

11) If a part needs replaced, spend the extra money for an upgrade. Sure it may cost you an extra 10% now, but it will grow with you.

Congrats on looking at the WRX, especially the bugeye. There is nothing else like it on the road (first hint of a Neon, Mini, or Sprite joke here and I'll report you to the mafia, readers), especially at it's price point. Let us know what you decide, and if you go with the WRX, welcome to the family.

If you are going to own a Bugeye as your first car, there are some things to remember. The WRX is a very driver-demanding car. This is actually one of the better selling points of it. If you want a car that drives itself, buy an Evo.

However, if you take it easy for a while until you get the feel of the car, and you take good care of it, you cannot ask for a better experience for the money. I know this is your first car, so remember a few basic things I learned the hard way on my first car:

1) Gray cars at dusk on a gray road are hard to see. Especially on an overpass at 45 mph in a 25. And gray cars have a tendancy to broadside other cars randomly.

2) Do not let your friends write "This car sux" in crayon on the back of the passenger seat.

3) CHANGE THE OIL REGULARLY. Sure you're only 500 miles over, but who knows what is happening then.

4) It is a WRX. You are not a Civic, Prelude, or Integra. Any sign of rice and I will drive to your house with my heat gun and take every last sticker off myself, unless that sticker is in some way demeaning to owners of other cars. A SPOON sticker will get you dragged out to a blanket party.

5) Ebay is a great source for aftermarket parts... IF you know what you are looking for and are buying a quality product.

6) Time to change the oil again.

7) Learn to perform work on your WRX on your own as much as you can. It is a race car, parts are modular and easy to get to, for the most part. There is no better car to learn on built after 1974.

8) If you can afford to, get a set of seconds wheels and tires for wintertime. Do not spend a ton of money on winter wheels, you can buy them off the forums here pretty cheap.

9) Change your oil again.

10) Learn to use the ClubWRX, Scoobymods, Nabisco, and i-Club search engines.

11) If a part needs replaced, spend the extra money for an upgrade. Sure it may cost you an extra 10% now, but it will grow with you.

Congrats on looking at the WRX, especially the bugeye. There is nothing else like it on the road (first hint of a Neon, Mini, or Sprite joke here and I'll report you to the mafia, readers), especially at it's price point. Let us know what you decide, and if you go with the WRX, welcome to the family.

The wrx is probaly one of the hardest cars to learn how to drive manual. The AWD is not forgiving when you are first learning. Also the clutchs in the 02 are pretty stiff from what I've heard. My suggestion would be to find someone with an older car to learn on first.

As far as common issues with 02 the biggest is probaly the tranny. They do not take to reckless abuse all that well. Make sure since you are buying a 4-5 year old car at this point that all the maitance was up to date. If the owner cant show you proof of oil changes and other routine maitance then I'd pass.

I learned how to drive stick in my wrx. and let me tell u i wish i hadn't. 302@12psi: is right.. wrx's r some of the harder cars to learn how to drive stick in.. if i were u i would learn in another car before learning in a 02 wrx.. which are known for there weak transmisions. once u master driving ur wrx.. all other manual cars will indeed be a lot easier to drive..

For 90% of new drivers, I would say this is a bad first car to have. I think its a great first sports car to have, as its pretty safe, has some power but not totally ballistic and prone to flying off the road easily, and is fairly easy to drive normally to fairly aggresively. Its an excellent car to learn how to respond to fast acceleration, grippy tires, and overall peppy performance. There are definetly better cars when driving at the limit, but the Rex does pretty good on most counts. AWD is nice for bad weather too.

That said, for a person just learning how the world of cars works, I can't say I recommend it. Most teenage male drivers like to push the limits of whatever they are driving, and as cars go, the limits are much higher speed and going past them will be much more destructive. If you think that you can keep yourself from pushing too hard and showing off to your friends, then I would say it might be allright. If not, don't even think about it and get something thats a bit more tame. Take for instance that typical situation where you get surprised and accidently mash the gas instead of the brake. A car with higher accelration and power will get you into worse trouble then something easier to handle. Many people have experienced this with the Rex and STI's, myself included, so just think about it.

The clutch took a bit of getting used to as its catch point is different then any other car I have driven, but I have also driven much harder to drive clutches, such as old trucks. Its certainly learnable though it may get frustrating. I remember coming on here and asking about if I could adjust the catch point of the clutch pedal about 2 weeks after I got this car because I kept stalling, but I am used to it now.

So just think about it. Worst case scenario you can come back in a year or two when in all likelyhood something better will be available, even in the WRX lineup (aka the 06's having better just about everything other then interior). If you want a subbie, I recommend looking for an Impreza L, Legacy Outback, or Forester, as they have the greatness of the impreza without the power. I had a jeep cherokee as a first car and highly recommend it in its manual configuration. You can get one for cheap, its indestructable, but its not a totally ginormous SUV and actually does allright with mileage.

Not that I don't love the idea of a WRX in your driveway dude, but I would rather see, for your first car, that you get something a little more on the everyday side of things. Get the essentials of driving down and then graduate to a WRX. We would all rather see you do this than do something irresponsible with a WRX the first week you have it and consequently end up hurt or worse. Just a thought.

My WRX is my 3rd car and I have driven it for 1 day so far and also this is my first manual. I think I am doing ok but I jerk a lot still from a stop to 1st and 1st to 2nd. I don't know if this is just because WRX is harder but I wouldn't recommend a manual for a first car as it is. Learn to drive first...THEN learn to drive stick. This will cause less accidents for sure.

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